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“Dance with me.”
“What?”
Sirius grinned at Mary’s perplexed expression. He stood before her in the middle of the street, back straight and hand offered to her. If his mother could see him now—pompous and noble—she would have been proud. Maybe. Under normal circumstances Sirius would think this mad. They had just left Lily and James’ place and decided to walk some of the way home. During their stroll they talked, and listening to Mary filled Sirius with so much affection that before he knew it he had traipsed to the middle of the street and asked her to dance with him.
“We’ve… never danced.” Mary approached him, uncertainty in her voice.
“Never?” his grin dimmed as he dropped his hand.
“Would I lie to you?” she sounded indignant, but her smile said differently.
“You have lied to me before.”
“Have I?”
“First of April.”
Mary bit her lip, the corners of her mouth twitching. “What do you mean?”
Sirius sighed, shoulders slumping as he made a show of combing his hair back in distress. Her growing smile was an addictive sight—he just had to keep making her smile. It didn’t matter if he looked like a fool doing it; as long as she smiled, as long as she was happy he’d do every stupid thing in the world.
“You were cruel, Macdonald, convincing me I’d gone mad like that. I was driven to search for a cure—”
"Oh, really?"
"Yes! The cure for madness was humiliating, let me tell you—more so than spattergroit. But what choice did I have? So I did it. I–I wore a daisy crown, stripped naked, and bathed in flobberworm mucus while eating sheep's fur to—"
She burst out laughing. "Stop it! You did not do that—you did not!"
He laughed with her, unable to help himself. "Oi. I considered doing it."
Mary's giggles grew louder. The echoes were sharp as it bounced around the houses along the street. It was a miracle that not one person peered out of their windows to berate the couple for disturbing the peace. The sound was music to Sirius’ ears, though. Affection filled every corner of his being to the brim, taking his breath away. As she continued to laugh he took her hand and pulled her close, circling his arm around her waist. She draped her arm around his shoulders and closed the remaining distance between them. He kissed her, thrilled to catch her in the middle of a smile. He held their hands aloft and gently swayed her to a song he once heard from Remus' Muggle records.
"We've seriously never danced?" he whispered, pulling away, "ever?"
"Hmm… never."
"Ah, well,” he smiled sheepishly, “I was never a dancer. Skipped every lesson I had.”
"But you do dance."
"What d'you mean?" Sirius frowned at the knowing, vaguely amused smile on Mary's face.
"Before, whenever you lads threw those parties, I always saw you at the centre of the common room dancing with a girl." Her smile widened and a shiver trickled down his spine as she slid her hand up the back of his neck and tangled her fingers in his hair. "You definitely looked like a dancer to me."
“Well,” he drawled, avoiding her eyes as an uncomfortable sensation settled in his stomach. Of all the things Mary noticed about him. “To be fair, those girls asked me to dance—I'd be, er, a prick if I declined, yeah?"
“Don’t be alarmed,” she laughed, tugging his hair. “I’m not a dancer myself so I understand.”
At that, Sirius paused. Something clicked in his mind. It was no secret that he made no effort to indulge in romantic whims and he realised that Mary was much the same. Sifting through his memories he found that she was right: they never danced… nor was there any occasion where they did romantic gestures for each other. In fact he was certain that, save for her friends, he never saw her dance with anyone at all. A heavy feeling rose within him, overwhelming him as he recognised the enormity of this moment. He smiled slightly when she looked at him, brows raised.
“You’re dancing now.”
Mary's eyes widened as all signs of confusion vanished from her face. Their steps slowed and then stopped altogether. He was delighted at the reddening of her cheeks. When she lowered her head and avoided his eyes his small smile had grown wide.
"You asked me to, you git," she mumbled.
He laughed—an almost quiet, restrained, and husky sort of sound. He embraced her tightly. She chuckled along with him as she returned the gesture, her breaths warm against his ear. Sirius' chest tightened. It felt full, tingling, and ready to burst. In that moment he felt he could do whatever he wanted—live the life he always dreamed of; he could allow himself to feel so much happiness he needed two hearts to contain it all.
Most of all he wanted to keep her beside him, close to him, and never let go.
Mary kissed the side of his neck and whispered three words against his skin.
His only answer was to nod and hold her tighter.